SAN ANTONIO (DTN) -- As social battles over biotechnology continue, the American Farm Bureau, USDA and the trade group BIO remain opposed to mandatory labels that would raise doubts about the safety of food from biotech crops.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Farm Bureau members Monday that USDA is instead suggesting the Food and Drug Administration encourage food companies to develop quick response, or QR, codes that would allow people to use their smartphones to learn more information about the ingredients in a product. That's a more reasonable option than a genetically modified organism, or GMO, label.